Protocol

Single-Neuron Labeling Using the Genetic MARCM Method

This protocol was adapted from "A Practical Guide: Single-Neuron Labeling Using Genetic Methods," Chapter 13, in Imaging in Neuroscience and Development (eds. Yuste and Konnerth). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2005.

INTRODUCTION

Our brain is composed of hundreds of billions of neurons, each of which has an elaborate shape and a complex pattern of connections. To untangle this complexity, it is often useful to visualize one neuron at a time. This protocol describes single-neuron labeling using the MARCM system (Mosaic Analysis with a Repressible Cell Marker). The system was developed in Drosophila, but could, in principle, also work in other genetic model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans, zebrafish, or mice.